Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday won the confidence vote in parliament as he successfully cemented his mandate one month after the election’s inconclusive result forced him to join hands with his former political opponents’ corruption-tainted party.
Speaker of the parliament’s lower house Johari Abdul said that the support was affirmed via voice vote on Monday, with members favouring the leadership of Anwar drowning out the opposition.
Anwar said that, in the 222-seat legislature, he had 148 members’ support which gives him a majority of two-thirds required to pass reforms after the general elections that took place on November 19. Anwar’s close ally Johari received 148 votes as he got elected for the speaker’s post on Monday.
According to analysts, the government’s strong majority should help Malaysia gain political stability, after years of unstable governance and four changes in leadership.
In the elections, the Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition of PM Anwar Ibrahim clinched victory over 82 seats, leading ahead of the rivals but fell short of the required majority for the formation of the government.
The results created a situation of political stalemate, as the rival party headed by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin claimed that they have received support from the majority, which led to the intervention of Malaysia’s king.
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Anwar, who had been an opposition leader for a long-time, took the oath as the 10th prime minister of the country on November 24, to lead a unity government.
However, this forced the reformist politician, to enter into an alliance with Barisan Nasional, ex-leader Najib Razak’s graft-tainted party. Currently, Najib is serving a prison term for abuse of power and money laundering related to the financial scandal at state fund 1MDB.
(With inputs from agencies)
